A GROUP of residents have counted the number of litter bins in their area in a bid to ask for a review of the litter bin provision to help remove rubbish from their streets.
Roath is Rubbish is the slogan of the campaign residents have adopted to highlight the lack of public bins in their area and they are now working with Cynefin Cardiff, a project funded by the Welsh Government to improve local areas.
The project has led to the collective of residents mapping the location of litter bins in Plasnewydd. The result show there are 14 bins on Clifton Street, which equals to one bin every 30 metres, eight bins on Albany Road, or one bin every 62 metres, and only 10 bins on City Road, about one bin every 95 metres.
Luke Rice, Cynefin Cardiff Coordinator, said: “There are so many takeaways on City Road for so few bins. The problem is not the money involved but it is the effectiveness of the litter bin service and strategy.”
Cynefin Cardiff has brought the issue forwards to Plasnewydd councillors Mohammed Javed and Mary McGarry who agreed to review the number and location of bins in the area.
Cathays councillor Sam Knight also expressed an interest in the project and said: “Mapping where bins are placed and litter occurs could really help get the community involved in keeping our streets clean. However, this should work alongside and not replace the responsibility placed on takeaways to help keep their packaging off the streets.”
In Cathays, the litter bin provision is also unevenly located with six big black litter bins on Crwys Road and Salisbury Road but only two on Woodville Road and one on Cathays Terrace. Peter Osmond, who lives on Diana Street in Roath but works on Cathays Terrace, said: “From my work to Diana street, there’s not a single bin. I like to eat a banana on my way home but I have to carry the peel all the way home. My road is a dump, one bin for all those blocks is a ridiculous, the council should put one every two blocks or something.”
But other views expressed on the campaign’s Facebook page suggest litter picks and community work would be more effective to clean up the area.
Mr Rice responded: “By installing more litter bins than it leave no excuse for people to drop their rubbish on the floor.
“I agree that the community should take part in litter picks and the like but I think that the local authority has a duty to provide a system that is fit for purpose.
“The current system is not good enough and needs to be reviewed, ideally with input from residents.”
